Chapter 5

Chapter 5 Money.

From the information Lu Wen had revealed, players only possessed one initial skill at the start, but Ning Rong had three.

And those three were not even her upper limit.

Was this the power of a hidden identity?

Precisely because the hidden identity was so extraordinary, Ning Rong did not plan to actively ask too many questions, lest she unintentionally reveal something she should not. As for the things she was curious about, Lu Wen would definitely volunteer the information himself.

She had indeed guessed correctly.

Seeing how steady she remained, Lu Wen could not help continuing,

“The strength of an initial skill determines a player’s future ceiling. If the initial skill is strong, then that player’s future upper limit is higher. And vice versa.”

And Chi Juan’s initial skill was very strong, meaning her future achievements would not be small.

Ning Rong asked at the right moment,

“Can players only have one skill?”

Lu Wen scratched his head.

“For now, that seems to be the case. But initial skills can be upgraded by clearing games. Players with weak initial skills can also use game coins after leaving an instance to buy items in the game shop, increasing their survival rate.”

“However, players with weak initial skills also find it hard to make big money in the game. If they can’t make big money, they can’t buy powerful life-saving items. If they can’t buy powerful life-saving items, then their little lives still might not be safe.”

In short: the initial skill was extremely important!

Ning Rong, whose in-game identity was Hidden Tycoon: …

She was already a hidden tycoon. She probably would not lack money to spend, right?

She considered her words and said,

“Players with poor initial skills probably can’t enter the national team. Then there should be some independent groups too?”

Lu Wen gave her a thumbs-up.

“Sis, you guessed right. The high-level players all serve the nation now, so some low-level players can only huddle together for warmth.”

After saying that, he gave a bitter smile.

“I’m one of those low-level players. And I’m a lone wolf who hasn’t joined any team. Maybe one day I’ll disappear in the game and no one will even know.”

The Lu Wen who had been warm, lively, and cheerful ever since they met suddenly became downcast.

Ning Rong: …

She did not stop walking. Her target remained clear as she continued forward, as though it made no difference whether thorns covered the path ahead or flowers bloomed in clusters. Neither could affect her in the slightest. Even if danger filled the road before her, she would still stride forward firmly, step by step, until she cleared this game.

“Stay close to me.”

These three simple words, in this silent and pitch-black night, were like a shot of adrenaline, instantly bringing Lu Wen back to life.

He wanted to ask whether “stay close” meant just for now, or throughout this whole game instance.

Instinctively, he felt Ning Rong meant the latter.

Good, good, good.

He was someone protected by sis now too!

Lu Wen immediately beamed.

“Alright, sis, I’m coming!”

[…6.]

[Putting everything else aside, this little newcomer is truly first-rate at acting cool.]

[In this kind of environment, with one simple line of “Stay close to me,” she effortlessly gained a little follower.]

[Compassion? Or payment?]

[Payment, probably. Lu Wen truly held nothing back and told her everything he knew.]

[For a newcomer, information is too important. To be fair, aside from some inaccurate information, Lu Wen really did provide her with a lot of useful intel and greatly helped her.]

[B-rank instances are already hard, and she’s a complete rookie. Where exactly does she get the confidence to one-drag-two this?]

[But honestly, she really impressed me with that move.]

[Exactly. If she had bluntly said, “I’ll carry you,” or “Leave it to me,” it wouldn’t have had that cool factor. But she specifically only said, “Stay close to me.”]

[She understands how to win people over.]

After the two walked for half an hour, they arrived at a silent little village. At the outermost part of the village stood a stone tablet with the words “Su Family Village” carved on it. By the dim streetlights, they saw that the entire village was empty of people. At this hour, the villagers should all be asleep.

The moment they crossed past the stone tablet, a mutt suddenly darted out from the side and barked wildly at them. The dog barked fiercely, tail lowered, its whole body showing obvious aggression.

Lu Wen instinctively stepped in front of Ning Rong to block it. As a result, he was unexpectedly bitten hard by the mutt. After being bitten, Lu Wen hissed in pain and fiercely kicked the dog. The mutt let out a whimper and ran off, disappearing in no time.

From the dog’s appearance to Lu Wen being bitten, only two seconds had passed.

[Finished. Bad start.]

[Although the first day is very safe and no one will die, that doesn’t mean there’s absolutely no danger.]

[That bite might become this kid’s fatal wound on the second day.]

[Sure enough, acting cool is no good. Ning Rong had just finished showing off, and her little follower already got into trouble.]

[If it were an experienced player, they wouldn’t have been bitten at all.]

[Now I believe it. Lu Wen really is a low-level player. His initial skill is truly useless.]

[Looks like the little newcomer is low-level too. No sense of vigilance at all.]

Ning Rong truly had not expected to encounter a mutt opening-kill.

What Lu Wen said about “the first day being absolutely safe” had misled her to a certain extent, making her mistakenly believe nothing unfavorable to players would happen on the first day. No wonder players disliked teaming up with complete newcomers. Complete newcomers really lacked too much real combat experience.

Ning Rong crouched down to take a look and asked,

“How is it?”

Lu Wen smiled more miserably than crying.

“I’m fine, sis. It just hurts a bit right now.”

While the two were speaking, the middle-aged man who had reached the village before them spoke.

“For the sake of us all being players, I’ll give you a friendly reminder. The wound on this kid’s leg must be dealt with quickly, or he’ll be in serious trouble.”

Clearly, “dealt with quickly” did not mean merely bandaging it.

Ning Rong stood up.

“Thank you for the reminder.”

After giving the reminder, the middle-aged man directly left.

[As expected of an old player who cleared four games. He really has some ability.]

[Compared to veteran players, the little newcomer is still too immature.]

[Hope Lu Wen’s death won’t leave psychological trauma on the little newcomer.]

[Wait, Lu Wen just got bitten and you already think he’s going to die?]

[Otherwise? He’s a low-level player, definitely doesn’t have any useful life-saving items. Plus this is a B-rank instance. Handling a wound like that will be extremely difficult! This veteran player obviously wants to protect himself and doesn’t plan to interfere in Lu Wen’s matter. Unless Ning Rong’s initial skill is heaven-defying, they’re in danger this round!]

Ning Rong asked Lu Wen,

“Can you walk?”

Lu Wen nodded hard.

“Yes.”

Then, seeing Ning Rong’s little face look serious, he tried to lighten the mood.

“Sis, think of it positively. The game has only been going for two hours. In the next twenty-two hours, I’m still safe.”

But after this day, who knew.

Twenty-two hours should be enough.

She glanced in the direction the veteran player had left.

Since he was an old player who had cleared four games, he definitely had life-saving items on him. But he certainly would not part with such items easily. However... there was no problem money could not solve. If there was, it only meant the money offered was not enough.

Still, until the very last moment, Ning Rong did not plan to buy life-saving items from the veteran player. The veteran player looked down on complete newcomers like her, and she also did not want too much contact with him. Before she had enough means to protect herself, she could not show too much difference from others.

She led Lu Wen toward the most respectable-looking self-built house in the village. Based on experience, the best-maintained house was usually where the village chief lived. As for the shabby, broken houses, those should belong to ordinary villagers.

If they encountered any problem in the village, finding the village chief to solve it was surely the right move.

After arriving, Ning Rong first took out the wallet from the small black bag she carried. She had not forgotten that her skills worked better when used together with cash.

When she had first entered the game, all three of her game skills were gray. Looking now, the first skill, [Money Can Make Ghosts Turn the Millstone], had already unlocked.

Perfect timing. She was preparing to test the effect of this skill.

She just did not know whether real-world cash would be effective inside the game.

Just as she thought this, she unexpectedly discovered that all the money in her wallet had changed appearance.

The real-world banknotes had automatically been replaced by game currency. And the paper money in the game was black—not a dull black, but a metallic black with sheen, looking extremely refined. Besides that, there was now an extra black card in her wallet, gleaming with a cold luster.

This was...

A bank card in the game?

Even though many thoughts flashed through her mind, Ning Rong’s face still revealed nothing at all. Even the many viewers in the livestream could not read anything from her expression.

Seeing her take out her wallet, Lu Wen thought for a moment, then still lowered his voice to remind her,

“Sis, are you planning to ask to stay overnight at this house?”

Ning Rong gave an mm in acknowledgment.

Staying overnight was only one aspect. What she mainly wanted was for the village chief to help treat Lu Wen’s injury.

[Tsk, the little newcomer really has innocent ideas.]

[I’m leaving, I’m leaving. This is boring.]

[One second of sympathy for the little newcomer. Even if you knock until your hand breaks and sweet-talk until your lips peel, the village chief still won’t agree to let you stay.]

[NPCs in infinite games aren’t as easy to talk to as people in the real world.]

Lu Wen felt a bit reluctant to crush her hopes.

“Sis, real-world money is useless in the game…”

Just after saying that, he watched with his own eyes as Ning Rong pulled two large-denomination game bills out of her wallet!

One bill was one hundred. Two bills made two hundred!

If the situation were different, he would have turned into a screaming chicken on the spot!

Wasn’t Ning Rong a complete newcomer?

Hadn’t she cleared zero games?

Then why did she have game currency?

The livestream viewers also desperately wanted to know—why exactly?!

She was a complete rookie whose cleared game count was zero, so why did she have money on her?!